I saw Howl’s Moving Castle for the first time on Monday night, even though it was made in 2004 and I’ve been hearing about it for years. But better late than never, as they say.

This animated film from Hayao Miyazaki is weird, whimsical and surreal. I liked it, I’m glad I saw it, but on reflection, I’d have to say that the visuals, and the spirit of it, are more impressive than the plot. But those visuals are reason enough to see it. (The film is based on a book by English author Diana Wynne Jones, though I understand that some liberties were taken.)

The story seems to be taking place some time around the 1900s, in a place that might be England or somewhere in Europe. Some characters have British accents, some have American ones. Go figure.
Storefront signs are in English, a poster on an exterior wall is in German, boxes in a storeroom have labels in German and Italian. There are smoke-belching trains, trolleys, expansive squares, various kinds of architecture, including half-timbered houses. There are warships in the harbour and soldiers and cavalry in the streets. Strange airplanes fill the sky. (You’ll see.)

Howl is a young wizard. We never learn why he has such an unusual name. Despite the early 20th century timeframe, he looks a lot like your typical manga character – long, blond hair, with teardrop earrings, even. He’s pretty, and pretty vain, too – in a moment of adversity, he declares that life isn’t worth living if he can’t be beautiful.

His dwelling does indeed move – sometimes it walks on what looks like giant chicken legs (four instead of the conventional two), other times it flies through the air.

Movement is powered by a cranky, wise-cracking demon named Calcifer.

It’s a wondrous thing in its own unique and ramshackle way, looking like the remnants of a wooden ship outfitted with a weird assortment of domes, and chimneys that stick out at weird angles like the drones on a bagpipe. Other bits look like part of an oil derrick or a construction crane. “Castle” is not really the first word that comes to mind.

Sophie is a young woman who works in her mother’s hat shop. (At first I thought she was one of those stereotypical spunky orphans. though. Not sure why I did.)

The young Sophie, before a visit from the Witch of the Waste.

The jealous Witch of the Waste puts a curse on Sophie and turns her into a hunched old woman, 80 or 90 years old.

Sophie is shocked and upset at first, but handles this setback remarkably well, all things considered. She does not become bitter, she retains her good nature. Sophie leaves home because she doesn’t want her family to see her like that, and she can’t explain the situation, either – the curse comes with a non-disclosure clause – if she tries to say anything about it, her mouth just stops working.

Outside the city, Sophie meets a helpful, hopping scarecrow. He looks like a character from a Tim Burton movie.

He leads her to Howl’s very untidy castle, where she ends up as a miracle-working cleaning lady, cook, and Grandma figure. She doesn’t take any guff from that Calcifer, either.

But wait, now. Howl does have magical powers, so you’d think that he could have bewitched some brooms to keep the place clean, right?

That’s just one of many things in Howl’s Moving Castle that doesn’t stand up to too much examination. Sometimes it’s tricky trying to figure out who’s a good guy (or gal) and who’s a bad one. Howl has lost his heart, (literally, not just metaphorically), and yet…he lives! Motivations are murky, too, but like I said, it does look good!

If you want a message, or two, how about these: 1) perseverance pays off, 2) you can’t go wrong showing kindness and respect to everyone, even to those who might not seem to deserve it.

Howl’s Moving Castle is 119 minutes long. The version being shown at Cinéma du Parc is dubbed into English, with Emily Mortimer providing the voice of the young Sophie, and Jean Simmons as the older one. Christian Bale, sounding American, is Howl. As Calcifer, the fire demon, Billy Crystal brings a touch of Noo Yawk to the castle. The voice of Howl’s young assistant, Markl, comes from Josh Hutcherson. (Through much of the film, I thought that his name was Marco.) Lauren Bacall (!) is the Witch of the Waste. Blythe Danner is a character named Mme. Suliman. (I thought she was Sullivan for a while.) Maybe I need my hearing checked, maybe some people are not enunciating well. Who knows?

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